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What is the "layman's" meaning of Fair Use?

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stilsekngtrth

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? AZ
I have researched this subject to death and I still don't understand the parameters of "Fair Use." I published a book in 2008 and, I have a blog. An atty copied and distributed 84% of my book and 92% of the contents of my blog. After I embedded security measures on my blog, to specifically block her from accessing my material, she created screen shots of the pages and took pictures of the screen. On her "billing" statement to her client, she actually writes out the amount of time she billed the client for "taking photographs of web pages."

Question: When did this atty cross the "Fair Use" line?
 


justalayman

Senior Member
I have researched this subject to death and I still don't understand the parameters of "Fair Use."
nor does anybody else. While there are fair explanations of what is considered fair use, determining if a specific use is truly fair use is something for a court to decide.


one thing you did not explain was:

why was the attorney doing this? Part of determining whether it is fair use or not is actually knowing what it was used for.
 

Silverplum

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? AZ
I have researched this subject to death and I still don't understand the parameters of "Fair Use." I published a book in 2008 and, I have a blog. An atty copied and distributed 84% of my book and 92% of the contents of my blog. After I embedded security measures on my blog, to specifically block her from accessing my material, she created screen shots of the pages and took pictures of the screen. On her "billing" statement to her client, she actually writes out the amount of time she billed the client for "taking photographs of web pages."

Question: When did this atty cross the "Fair Use" line?
Why would an attorney do that? There's a reason, and it matters.
 

quincy

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? AZ
I have researched this subject to death and I still don't understand the parameters of "Fair Use." I published a book in 2008 and, I have a blog. An atty copied and distributed 84% of my book and 92% of the contents of my blog. After I embedded security measures on my blog, to specifically block her from accessing my material, she created screen shots of the pages and took pictures of the screen. On her "billing" statement to her client, she actually writes out the amount of time she billed the client for "taking photographs of web pages."

Question: When did this atty cross the "Fair Use" line?
What would an attorney want with your blog contents or book contents?

Where did you come up with the 84% and 92% amounts?

What type of book did you create in 2008?

What do you blog about?

For a good explanation of copyright's fair use (which is an affirmative defense to copyright infringement and not permission to use copyrighted material), you can go to the following Stanford site: http://fairuse.stanford.edu/Copyright_and_Fair_Use_Overview/chapter9/index.html.

None of what you describe sounds like "fair use" but facts matter. You could have your own attorney in Arizona review the matter, to determine if there is any legal action for you to pursue - if pursuing a legal action is what you are interested in doing.

Good luck.
 

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